


Hindrance

by Silverskye13



Series: The Stairs to the Core (Grillster Stories) [8]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Cuz I figured I'd already written so much of them dancing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gaster sings, Gen, Grillby plays the piano, Piano, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Relationship Issues, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, might as well switch it up for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-25 22:35:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9849467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverskye13/pseuds/Silverskye13
Summary: Grillby is exhausted. It's Valentine's Day. He's been serving people at the bar all day long. All he wan't to do is goo home andsleep. But... he can't say no when Gaster offers him an evening to celebrate the lovely holiday himself. Grillby knows the scientist is trying to be nice. Gaster wants nothing more than to shower Grillby with all the love and praise he thinks the elemental deserves.But... Grillby can't help but notice... just how different the two of them are because of it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Song mentioned is "It's Raining Somewhere Else" with lyrics by ateotu, for anyone who wants to listen to it, or hasn't heart it yet.  
> You can find it here --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXwSt3pVfkI

Grillby yawned and stretched, fighting past the stiffness that came from standing in the same position for _far_ too long. His back ached faintly from where he’d been hunched slightly over the counter for the past hour, scrubbing down the last of his glasses. He now had a neat row of crystalline glass at the end of his bar counter, a room full of wiped down tables, their chairs stacked neatly on their tops. The kitchen had been cleaned; the floors had been swept and mopped. All food that might spoil had been discarded. Grillby was down to the soul _exhausted_ , but finally, an hour late, he was done closing down for the night.

Heavens _alive_ was he ready for sleep.

Holidays were always like this - he was either so busy he closed late, or he was completely _dead_ for customers. Valentine’s Day was no exception. This year, apparently the people of Snowdin had decided to grace him with a full house. Singles came to drink their worries away, lamenting their solitude - or enjoying friendship. Couples ate and loosened up before the rest of their date night progressed. There were even a couple of families who stopped in, and Grillby took a few extra minutes to put pink food coloring in some ice cream for the kids. They squealed happily at the special treat. Grillby tried to appear just as enthusiastic about it, even if all he really felt was a bit overwhelmed.

If he knew more reliably how much business he’d get on holidays, he might actually hire some _help_. Sometimes Gaster was able to lend a hand - or four - but this year the skeleton had been holed up at the labs all evening. Grillby hoped the stubborn monster had at least let his interns go home at a decent time. Some people weren’t quite as work-involved as Grillby or Gaster were.

The elemental let out a long, smoke filled sigh, grabbing up his coat from the back and slipping it over his shoulders. He had a cigarette in his mouth before he was even out the front door. He was _so ready_ to go home and sleep. So ready in fact, that he almost didn’t notice the note hidden just a little-too-conspicuously by the door frame, tacked in place just beside the lock so it would be easy to see. Grillby locked the bar and, flame twisting through a puzzled frown, took the little paper off the door. He smirked as he read it, recognizing in an instant Gaster’s symbol-filled handwriting.

_“Roses are red, violets are blue_

_I’ve got a little surprise for you!_

_Stop at home first, you’ll want to look nicely_

_I’ll come pick you up at midnight precisely.”_

Grillby huffed out a sigh, a laugh just on the edge of it. Oh gods. Looks like sleep _wasn’t_ on the agenda for the night yet. Though he had to give Gaster credit for somehow managing to rhyme something with the word _precisely_. Wait... _midnight?_ Grillby had closed late... Gaster would be showing up any minute! And what exactly did he mean by looking _nice?_ Where were they even going?

With a flustered spark Grillby dashed home, thankful at least that he lived fairly close to work. He was up the stairs to his room in an instant, shuffling through a few carefully paired outfits in his closet. Now was a time he could truly appreciate his own foresight - he always kept a few outfits hung together so he could grab a change of clothes quickly. With someone as spontaneous as Gaster around, sometimes he didn’t have much time to prepare for an adventure. Granted, most of these clothes were casual, but that was nothing putting on the right jacket and tie couldn’t fix.

Grillby was still tying the knot on his tie when a knock peppered across the door, disjointed with the enthusiastic rhythm that Gaster always used. The elemental bounded over to open it, sparking in surprise when he saw Gaster. He looked, well, _spiffy_. As always Gaster sported a black overcoat, but underneath this was a blue-patterned collared shirt, left unbuttoned to display a white shirt underneath. He was picking at his messily cuffed sleeves while waiting for Grillby to open the door, the vibrant blue peeking out just beneath the dark jacket. He grinned when he saw Grillby, the lights of his eyes darting across the bartender’s outfit.

“Hey, we match!”

Grillby looked down. His undershirt was the same white one he’d worn to work - and he hoped it didn’t smell too much like the bar. But the sweater over it was black, and the tie a very similar blue to what Gaster was wearing.

Grillby flickered a smirk, “Huh yeah… serendipitous. So what’s going on?”

“Well you’re going to find out!” Gaster laughed, offering an arm for the elemental to take, “Do you mind if we take the ferry?”

Grillby gave a hesitant flicker, “Uh… do we _have_ to?”

Gaster flashed the elemental a sympathetic look, “Well no, but it’s either that or walk through Waterfall. Pick your poison.”

Grillby sighed out a breath of smoke, smiling ruefully, “The ferry then I guess.”

He took Gaster’s arm and let the skeleton lead him off, wondering a bit hopefully if wherever they were going might have coffee. He was _tired_ , and weary from being on his feet all day. But he could grin and bear it for whatever surprise Gaster had in store for him he was sure.

The trip on the ferry was nerve-wracking but short, with Gaster and the Riverperson striking up a pleasant conversation along the way. Grillby had no idea how Gaster could stand the cryptic monster’s company. The elemental saw the Riverperson as nothing short of intimidating. Though he supposed Gaster was pretty intimidating on his own - Grillby might be equally nervous of him if he hadn’t known the skeleton for so long.

They got off the ferry at Hotlands and walked the rest of the way to the Capitol - the river didn’t run _quite_ far enough into the Underground to take them the whole way. The streets here were thin and claustrophobic, surrounded by houses and businesses all collaged on top of each other in a mix of clashing colors and styles. Some were new and impressive; others were older and starting to who wear. Grillby always felt a bit nervous walking through them, like the dark windows of every building were watching him, some of them leering down from towering heights. He was used to the great openness of Snowdin.

What was more unsettling was that everything about the Capitol was still alive. It never slept. While the streets weren’t quite as crowded as they would be during the day, there were still monsters walking to and fro. Some roved in packs, others in couples. On Valentine’s night, very few were completely alone.

Gaster strode confidently down a few more streets; his arm still hooked around Grillby’s, “So, just for the record, you are not allowed to freak out.”

Grillby flickered a bemused smirk, “Freak out how, exactly?”

Gaster grinned sheepishly back, “Oh just… the usual.”

“And what’s the usual?”

Gaster’s grin got a little more nervous, “Expenses.”

Grillby abruptly scowled, “Gaster-!”

“Because it wasn’t expensive!” Gaster interrupted quickly, “I mean - not that that should matter _anyway._ But this was a favor I asked and the person accepted, so don’t worry about it.”

They turned onto the main street then, and Gaster lead them up to the _most expensive looking restaurant Grillby had ever seen._ He recognized the name, even if he’d never actually _been_ to this place before. It was _literally_ the fanciest restaurant in the entire Underground, some lordly place that had been founded by some entertainer or another. Grillby didn’t know the particulars. He just knew it existed because _everyone_ knew it existed.

Grillby stopped abruptly outside the doors, yanking Gaster to a halt with him, “Gaster no.”

“Gaster _yes_ ,” the skeleton laughed, “Come _on_ Grillby.”

“No I will _not_ come on,” Grillby said nervously, flickering through a thousand nervous shades of blue and green, “For one thing, we’re _extremely_ underdressed for this place-”

“Well that’s fine,” Gaster shrugged, “They’re technically closed so you know… formal rules don’t apply.”

“ _Gaster!_ ”

“What? I told you it was a favor,” Gaster was still pleasant, probably finding Grillby’s frantic nervousness funny, “Honestly you’re overreacting.”

He finally disentangled his arm from around the flustered elemental’s, stepping around so he could better look Grillby face-to-face, “Okay so for starters, you’re my best friend and the most hard working person I know. You deserve to be spoiled for once, just throwing that out there.”

Oh jeez. Grillby _definitely_ didn’t agree.

“And for _another_ , every other place I tried was either booked full for tonight or closed _way_ before you got off work,” Gaster laughed, “So… you know… if you’re going to start using favors, go big or go home, right?”

The elemental sighed out a hiss of nervous smoke, but he offered his arm back to Gaster to take to lead him inside. The skeleton let out an elated sort of squeal and half led, half dragged Grillby through the great doors. Oh gods… Grillby felt like trash just walking into this place. The entire color scheme was royal and bright, purples and reds and golds dripped from every surface. The ceiling was vaulted, decorated with glittering chandeliers, their lights dimmed for the evening. The floors were covered in a darkly stained hardwood, laid down by hand in spiralling patterns. Rugs occasionally broke the pattern, placed on the most heavily trafficked areas of the floors, all of them likely hand woven, their designs reflective of some of the older historic works carved into the walls in Waterfall. Though here the scenes were grander, woven with bright color and traces of silver and gold thread.

Gaster was right; the place was deserted and likely closed. But this didn’t stop the only remaining waiter from greeting them when they entered, offering a princely bow and asking their reservation name. They were then escorted through the elaborate main dining hall to a secluded little corner lit by candle-light, off to the side of a beautifully polished grand piano. Gaster whistled an elated tune through his teeth as they were seated, positively beaming.

“ _Oh_ this is even better than I thought it would be!” he gasped, fidgeting with the silverware as if it were the most impressive thing he’d ever seen in his entire life. Grillby sat rather stiffly, afraid to even _breathe_ on the stuff around him. He was terrified he’d have some fit of clumsiness and accidentally knock something important over - or worse, _burn_ something. Oh gods. Everything here was _so expensive_. He was scared to even glance at the menu the waiter handed them. He sat with his hands clasped firmly in his lap, trying not to ogle at every glinting, glittery thing he saw, flickering in overwhelmed colors of blue and green.

Gaster laughed, “Oh come _on_ Grillby, loosen up. There is literally no one here who could judge you right now.”

“I feel like I’m going to wreck everything,” Grillby whined in reply, gleaning another laugh from his friend, “You said this was a _favor?_ Do you know the owner or something?”

Gaster grinned, leaning his chin on his hands, elbows on the table - something Grillby had been told was supposedly bad manners in a place as fancy as this, “Oh yeah, his daughter is one of my interns. I didn’t realize until we had one of our Core status meetings with the King here? Her father served us personally. He’s a nice monster, I think you’d like him. Takes his business seriously.”

“I bet so,” Grillby hummed, looking around once again at the lavish surroundings, “And pretty generous, too. I can’t believe he’d let you use this place after hours just because you know his daughter.”

“Oh, well… there’s a little more to it than that,” Gaster said with a laugh, and Grillby flickered a question back at him. Gaster sighed out a heavy breath, slipping into a look of utter seriousness and nervousness, his voice dripping with regret, “I’m sorry Grillby I… I’m cheating on you. Sometimes I don’t just eat at your bar, I eat other places. And I’ve been coming here a lot on weekends I just - I can’t believe this is coming to light on Valentine’s Day of all d-”

He was cut off when Grillby tossed his napkin at the skeleton’s face, laughing for a moment before clearing his throat and managing to fake a disgusted tone, “How _dare you_ Gaster! And I thought what we had was special.”

The two burst into a fit of laughter, managing to silence themselves down to giggles when the waiter came to take their order. Grillby mirrored what Gaster got, not quite adventurous enough to try and brave the strange names on the menu. He knew the skeleton had good taste.

Grillby sighed, continuing their conversation, “Still it was nice of him to let you borrow the place.”

Gaster signed with a happy sigh, “Yeah. Like I said, he’s a nice guy. His daughter is even nicer though, and _smart_. She’s been helping me work on the souls Asgore’s given us. She’s got a keen eye for magics and energies, and how they work in mechanical systems.”

The skeleton tutted a half-hearted laugh, “Maybe someday when I finally decide to retire she’ll take over the Core management.”

Grillby murmured an agreement, his soul growing somber. _Retirement_. Hah! Gaster would probably never retire. The skeleton was too hard working, too energized. He twitched too much when he was inactive. Grillby figured he would probably die working on his precious Core. Which wasn’t a bad thing. If it meant Gaster stayed happy and fulfilled, Grillby would gladly encourage him to keep going. Even now the skeleton was gushing, rambling and signing enthusiastically about his interns and the progress they’d been making lately. Grillby sipped on a drink the waiter offered him and listened as Gaster talked, feeling the strangest mix of content and pessimistic.

Gaster was going places. Gods, as if this stupid reservation weren’t proof enough of that. And this wasn’t new. Gaster had been going for a while. And he would keep moving forward, excelling, thriving. Meeting new monsters, _important_ monsters. Building on his creations. Building on their world. Someday Grillby was sure, Gaster would be the reason the barrier came down - or he would be the first monster on the surface when it happened.

Grillby wasn’t jealous of this, truly he wasn’t. He felt nothing but happiness for his friend. But… at the same time… he honestly wondered why Gaster hadn’t left him behind in the rush. Gaster was still here, talking to Grillby years after they’d first met. It was like clinging to some relic out of sentimental value - useless and short-sighted, and at the end of the day all it did was clutter your life up. While Grillby definitely wasn’t holding his friend back… he knew with certain clarity that he wasn’t helping Gaster move forward either.

Grillby was cursed to be this way, an object at rest, never changing. He’d settled on his tiny, miserable corner of Snowdin and never moved any further. When he looked at Gaster, he felt simple and small.

The waiter dropped off their food and Grillby picked at his reluctantly, still deep in thought. It took Gaster a few tries to get the elemental’s attention. On his teeth was a concerned frown.

“Hey, _hey_ what’s wrong?” Gaster asked, leaning a little further across the table as if it could help him better discern an answer from the quiet elemental, “You look down. Your flame’s all red and everything.”

Grillby sparked a half-hearted laugh, “Just tired. I’ve been working all day you know.”

“Oh no,” Gaster scowled warningly, and Grillby flickered a rueful smirk in return, “I know tired on you, and that isn’t _just_ tired. What’s the matter, firefly?”

Grillby sighed out a short breath. He could feel the nice evening slipping down the drain already. Gods, was he seriously going to ruin this? Oh but he knew now that Gaster noticed, he wasn’t going to let it go, and Grillby was a bit too tired to figure out a convincing lie.

“Why do you bother with me, Gaster?” Grillby asked quietly, his voice a murmur of quiet sparks and swirling smoke.

Grillby imagined if there had been music playing then, it would have come to an abrupt halt - like a vinyl record breaking. Everything about Gaster’s expression wiped blank, even the lights of his eyes went dark. He was just staring, almost too derailed by the question to even frown. Everything about him, from the fidgeting with silverware to his knee tapping beneath the table, stilled. He could have turned to stone and been livelier.

Grillby was suddenly very aware of how quiet the deserted restaurant was. It made him feel sick and nervous.

“What do you mean?” Gaster finally asked, his words heavy with the breath he’d been holding, “ _Bother_ with you?”

 _Wow_ , the tablecloth was interesting. Grillby couldn’t stop staring at it. Every time he tried to look at Gaster shame bit him like a needle through his soul.

“I dunno I just… feel like you should’ve left me behind by now,” Grillby mumbled, wishing very much he could melt through the floor.

“O… kay…” Gaster said slowly, confused and… almost irritated, “And… _why_ would I do that exactly?”

“Well you’re just… always moving forward,” Grillby stumbled trying to explain his thoughts, where they’d come from… wondering if he should even be talking in the first place, “You’re an important monster - and all the people you meet are the same way. I just…”

Grillby sighed, “I don’t know. You’re the definition of progress Gaster. Everything you do moves the world forward. And I’m so, _so_ happy for you because of that. But your life is _this._ ”

He ushered to the lavish restaurant around them before huffing out a short breath of smoke, “And I run a bar in Snowdin.”

Gaster remained quiet and thoughtful as Grillby spoke, his gaze slowly dropping to the tablecloth beneath his finger bones. He looked crestfallen and contemplative all at once, and was silent for many long seconds after Grillby had finished speaking.

Finally he nodded and said, “Okay… yeah… okay, I can understand that.”

Grillby blinked at him, relief brightening the color of his flame just a bit, “You… can?”

“Yeah. Or well - I can see why you’d feel that way I... guess,” Gaster said, still sounding disappointed, and a bit like he didn’t understand why they were talking about this, “I mean I do keep you pretty separate from everything else I do. I just never really figured you’d be interested in all the lab nonsense - but I mean, I do everything else with you. And you’re always listening to me ramble about all the stuff that goes on.”

He offered Grillby a smile, some of his earlier enthusiasm returning, “Would you _want_ to start coming to events with me?”

Grillby flickered a questioning spark, “I… what?”

“Yeah! I don’t know why I didn’t ask before,” Gaster laughed, grinning, “Other monsters bring their spouses and kids and stuff to things we do.”

“But… they’re families.”

“And _we’re not?”_

The humor was lilting out of Gaster’s voice again, tilting into something more tense and irritated, an undertone that left a sour feeling in Grillby’s chest.

“Grillby come on,” Gaster sighed, trying his hardest not to sound bitter but unable to really hide it well, “I’m sorry but this is silly. And… kind of insulting. And I guess… eye opening.”

The doctor gave a frustrated sort of motion with his hands - nearly knocking his drink over in the process, “ _I_ consider us family. More than that. We’re like soul mates. We’ve always been there for each other. We’ve helped each other through everything life could possibly throw our way. For gods’ sakes Grillby, we went through the _war_ together. I love you with everything I could possibly give another monster. And you know… I try to show it too. Like with things like this.”

He waved his hand at the restaurant around them, “I never _ever_ want to leave you behind. You’re a piece of my soul. I thought you knew that.”

“I know, I know I’m sorry,” Grillby said quickly, his soul turning itself in knots, “It was just a thought. I’m sorry I’m just… tired. And overthinking things.”

Gaster opened his mouth to snap something back but the waiter interrupted them then, bashfully, to tell Gaster he needed to leave for the evening. He offered to take Gaster through how to lock-up before he left. The skeleton shot Grillby one last begrudging look, as if to say ‘this conversation isn’t over!’ before following the waiter to the front door. Grillby sighed with relief when the skeleton left.

Oh _gods._ He’d made a mess. He shouldn’t have said anything. He should have just vehemently dismissed the topic until Gaster moved on to something else. And he realized he wasn’t being fair. It _was_ late, and Grillby was prone to darker thoughts when he was tired. And he was _exhausted_. It was probably one? Two in the morning? And he’d been on his feet all day serving customers and taking orders. He was emotionally and physically exhausted, and now he had an argument with Gaster to top it all off. All Gaster had wanted to do was give him a nice evening. And Grillby had ruined it, _damn it_.

Grillby heaved out a deep, down-to-the-soul sigh, suddenly craving a cigarette. _Something_ to help him unwind a bit, something that wasn’t alcohol anyway. He stared forlornly at the ceiling, waiting patiently for Gaster to return, feeling a bit too emotional and nervous to try and eat his food. It was probably cold by now anyway. Grillby glanced to where the skeleton had disappeared off to. He could see Gaster and the waiter discussing something by the doors. They sure were taking their time. Then again, a place as grand as this probably had a few more hurdles to jump through than Grillby’s when it came to closing down.

At length, as Grillby’s eyes wandered around the building, his gaze rested again on the piano. Grillby glanced back to Gaster - still talking. His gaze flicked back to the piano. With a final sigh he pulled himself to his feet and meandered over, flipping the cover off the keys with a solid _thunk_. Every key looked like it was meticulously polished, pearlish in their shine. In the dim light it looked elegant, almost enchanting. There was a plate on its front that was emblazoned with a brand name Grillby recognized. It was a human brand - this piano had been restored from something found in Waterfall.

_Expensive piano._

Grillby nudged the bench out from under the hulking instrument with his foot, tapping idly at one of the keys. The quiet space resonated with its chiming sound, sent a shudder through his flame. It sounded nice. He wanted to think it sounded expensive, but honestly his ear wasn’t trained well enough to tell the difference in sound from one piano to the next. It was all just noise to him.

Grillby glanced back to Gaster - _still talking._

Grillby slid the bench out the rest of the way and took a seat, fingers brushing delicately across the keyboard, not hitting a single one yet. He was trying to remember how to play. Well, perhaps not _how_ to play. Just something he _could_ play. He took a second to flex his fingers, stretching them, trying to remember how to reach for cords he hadn’t touched in a while. He rested his fingertips gently on the keys and struck a chord. Then another. His foot slid naturally to the pedals at the piano’s base, pressing the one that would sustain the notes for him as his fingers glided to the next set of keys in the phrase he was playing. He hit one of them wrong and winced, reaching his finger over to correct the dissonant noise.

After a few more chords in the song he was playing, Grillby felt the stiffness in his body relax a bit, as if everything about him had sighed a breath of relief. It had been a while, but he could feel a bit of the practiced ease he’d once had sliding back into his body. It manifested in the calculated movements of his arms, the twitching of his foot on and off the pedals, in the way his fingers splayed. He still played a few notes sourly, but that was just the unfortunate happening that came from lack of practice. One chord at a time, he was easing back into the feeling of playing the instrument.

Grillby finished the song he was playing, paused for a moment as he thought of another one, and then slid into the opening chords. This was a familiar song, a heartfelt one. One of his favorites, he remembered.

And then a voice started just behind him, singing along to the tune Grillby played.

_“Don’t you know that you could tell me anything and,_

_I would tell not another soul?”_

Grillby glanced up just as Gaster sat on the bench beside him.

_“In the end when the laughter’s gone,_

_I think we both feel quite alone.”_

Grillby blinked at Gaster, and the skeleton blinked back. A pause passed between them where the chord Grillby was playing lingered _far_ longer than it should have, his flame lilting itself into the embarrassed blue of a blue. Gaster just raised the ridge above one of his eye sockets expectantly, waiting for the elemental to continue. Grillby looked back down at the piano keys for a second, sighing out a nervous breath of smoke. Had he ever played in front of Gaster? Nothing in recent memory came to mind..

Well… he supposed… there _was_ a first for everything.

Grillby hesitantly played over the chords Gaster had sung, giving the skeleton a lead in to continue the song. Gaster joined in with a pleasant sort of tenor. His voice shivered sometimes over certain notes, and a few of them fell flat or tilted sharp. Gaster wasn’t a singer. But… he wasn’t horrible either.

_“I can tell by the way that you speak to me that_

_there is so much that you might know._

_Even so, it won’t fill the emptiness_

_that chills you to the bone.”_

The skeleton sighed into the next verse, leaning a little closer to the elemental as he did so, watching Grillby’s hands as they crept across the various chords, studying the movements he didn’t know his friend was capable of making.

_“Now and then when you can find the company_

_\- some -_

_how it’s always behind locked doors,_

_Making promises you don’t want_

_because you’ve made them once before.”_

Grillby could feel the skeleton pressed up against his side now. The closeness was nice… even if he was worried his reaches across the piano would jostle Gaster. If Gaster himself minded, he didn’t show any sign of it.

_“Don’t you feel like you’re a mess sometimes?_

_I hope, you know that it’s okay._

_Searching endlessly for your distraction_

_\-  just -_

_To make it through the day.”_

Out of the corner of Grillby’s eye, he noticed Gaster smile. It was the sad sort of smile, something that curled across his mouth like the bitter taste of cheap alcohol. It was worried and quiet, and thoughtful in ways that made Grillby feel ashamed. Bitter about their conversation earlier.

_“You don’t have to have everything sorted out right now…_

_Just take your time…..”_

Grillby played through the bridge and the beginning of the final verse, a questioning spark flickering through him when Gaster didn’t sing the final portion. He played through the intro a couple of times, waiting, wondering if maybe Gaster had just missed the intro. But Gaster never picked it back up again. He was staring somberly at Grillby’s fingers as they reached and danced.

Grillby sighed out another breath of smoke and, for the sake of finishing the song if for nothing else, sang the final lines himself. Gaster sat up abruptly when Grillby did, a bit surprised. It had been a long, _long_ time since the elemental had last sung.

_“Don’t you know that you could tell me anything and_

_I would tell not another soul?_

_Go ahead, you can make your threats at me but_

_One day I’ll be gone.”_

Grillby tilted his head to the side, frowning a bit at the concentration it took to sing and play at the same time.

_“Quietly you can make your confessions through the -_

_string of truth as you speak in jest._

_I can hold it within my heart till I am_

_finally laid to rest.”_

The tune from the piano ended abruptly on the final word, the note hung suspended by one of the pedals at Grillby’s feet. Grillby let it stay there for several long seconds, the moment frozen for them - until he moved his foot and all the sound dropped abruptly out of the air. When he did, Grillby pulled his fingers off the piano keys, folding his hands together somewhat nervously in his lap. Gaster took that moment to hook his arms around Grillby’s hugging the elemental a little closer, leaning a little heavier against him.

“I didn’t know you could play piano,” Gaster hummed somewhat distantly.

Grillby shrugged, “Yeah uh… the innkeeper down the street? She gave me lessons for a few years.”

He paused and said with a smirk, “She said I picked it up fast.”

“It’s beautiful,” Gaster remarked, though his voice was the mystified sort of distant that said his mind wasn’t on the conversation at hand.

Finally he sighed, “What are we doing, Grillby?”

Grillby looked down at him questioningly.

The skeleton continued, the lights of his eyes tracing the dark spaces around the piano, “Do you not feel the same way about me that I feel for you?”

Grillby sighed out a miserable breath of smoke, “Of course I do. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m glad you’re in my life.”

He hesitated a second before saying, “I just… don’t want to hold you back.”

“Well you’re not holding me back,” Gaster said matter-of-factly, “So don’t worry about it.”

 _Easier said than done_ , Grillby thought with bitter certainty. But… he felt reassured just a bit. Barely. Somewhere at the back of his soul.

“There’s a family event for work in a couple of weeks,” Gaster offered, his voice a little more hopeful, “I wasn’t going to go but… if you want, I could take you. It’d be nice. You could meet some of my colleagues. Get a tour of the Core. Say hi to the new interns…”

“I’d like that,” Grillby hummed finally, and Gaster cracked a smile.

“I’ll put a reservation in.”

Grillby smiled sadly, “Sorry for spoiling the evening.”

Gaster clenched his teeth in something like a thoughtful pout. He whistled a soft noise, and then shrugged, “Play me another song and we’ll call it even.”

He flashed a sideways glance up at Grillby, a playful grin twitching at the edge of his teeth. Grillby chuckled, and wordlessly leaned forward to begin playing again. This time his fingers made their way to a happier song, and peppered the room with jazzy flair as Gaster tapped his foot along. They sat like that in homely company for several hours. Humming, sometimes singing, the hall alight with the rolling tones of the piano. At some point the finally finished their meal and locked up, walking close together as they headed home.

They were out late enough that Gaster didn’t bother going back to sleep. He simply dropped Grillby off with a nod and a smile, taking an offered cup of coffee for the road as he meandered back to Hotlands. The lab would be opening in just a few hours, and the doctor figured he might as well get things started. Grillby fussed over him quietly, insisting that just a few hours’ sleep was better than none.

That morning Grillby walked to work by himself, running on a rough couple hours of sleep and two cups of coffee. He thought bitterly about what he’d worried over the night before, and resolved himself not to be so overdramatic in the future.

With a tiredness of soul, he opened the bar.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry this is so late! But hey it IS finally done!
> 
> Weirdly enough, this is roughly based off a couple conversations I've had with someone before? Which is probably why I feel so okay addressing it. There is a weird to-do here about self-worth and love.
> 
> I'd also like to mention now that this series officially has an overarching plot! And the fics within it have been put in a specific order now (and will continue to be shuffled around probably, until it is finished). So you all have that to look forward to, I suppose?


End file.
